COVID-19

Virtual Accounting Firms Have Hidden Costs

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Happy business professionals giving high five hand slap

Save by combining a retreat with CPE.

By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud

With a brick-and-mortar company, there are a number of standard costs that you would expect to have, such as rent or mortgage, utilities, building repairs, furniture, technology, etc. The total amount of these kinds of costs typically falls in the range of 3-4 percent of the company’s annualized revenue. That amount can be pretty significant for a lot of companies.

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Some business owners may think they can save the company all of that money by going remote, but I personally believe that’s a terrible idea. While it’s true that a distributed company doesn’t have the costs that come with having a physical space, the very nature of a remote work environment results in a completely different and unique set of needs that should be considered in the company’s annual budget.
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Will Your Success be Incremental or Exceptional?

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Eight forces that have altered the future of accounting firms.

By Anthony Zecca
Leading from the Edge

“All organizations are perfectly designed to get the results they are now getting. If we want different results, we must change the way we do things.” – Tom Northup, author of “Five Hidden Mistakes CEOs Make”

What a great statement not just about accounting firms, but all organizations – “perfectly designed to get the result they are now getting.” There is another old saying that goes something like this: “If you want different results you have to do things differently.” Center leaders hold onto the status quo whereas Edge leaders constantly push the envelope of what is possible – pushing to the future edge.

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Leadership is a topic that has been researched, talked about, written about, training sessions built around, and endless models developed – yet it is also one of the most challenging issues in most firms today. Over my career, I have worked and consulted with leaders of all shapes and styles and firms that experienced varying degrees of success. Based on working with hundreds of companies, my conclusions – and two of the primary reasons that drove me to write my book – are that in many cases, firms are performing below their capabilities and every firm has the potential to reach higher levels of performance if and when leadership moves from the center to the EDGE. Edge leaders want to be at the top of the pack when it comes to all metrics that matter whereas center leaders are content to remain average.
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The Six Leadership Challenges That Firms Face

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illustration

Your response must align with your vision.

By Anthony Zecca
Leading from the Edge

Within every firm, every leader (Edge or center) faces challenges every day. There is always a gap between the leader’s vision and what is actually taking place on the ground, day to day. There are always situations that develop that challenge a leader’s ability to remain steadfast in their leadership style and vision.

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When this happens, there is an opportunity for firm leaders to step up to the edge and to face the challenge with courage, conviction, transparency and confidence – never wavering on culture or their future vision for the firm. Edge leaders get out in front of the challenge, communicating and demonstrating that they are in control, whereas center leaders let the challenge take control. Edge leaders respond with clarity and focus surrounding the issues facing their workforce, their clients, their financial health and their future.
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Make Cybersecurity a Client Service Option

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Illustration of computer security threatsCheck your own system first, then help others.

By Penny Breslin
It’s Not Just the Numbers

In 2020, like many businesses, we went remote. My remote team of excellent ladies in Chennai, India, had to go even more remote than they already were. When India shut down, I figured I was out of business. We promise our cybersecurity is job number one to our accounting and financial firms. We have a highly controlled work environment, except for the day care and under 3’s occasionally looking for Mum. I did not think sending our employees home would work.

MORE: How to Safeguard Client Information | How to Create Effective Communication Systems | Set Expectations with an Anticipatory Set | Four Steps for Controlling Source Documents | How to Use OneNote to Create a Firm Playbook | How to Develop Procedures for BOS | Top Tech Tools for Building Your New BOS Business
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But thank the universe, many of our clients had no problem as long as we could figure out the security. They had been working with the same team of ladies. They saw them on Zoom and communicated daily on Slack. So, in 48 hours we went through an internal change to allow that to happen.
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